JP2003026064A - Collision safety device for two-wheeler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collision safety device for a two-wheeler for shortening time up to starting operation from a collision, and having no influence on performance by an installing state before use. SOLUTION: This collision safety device 1 for the two wheeler has an air jacket 2, a cartridge 3, an opening device 4, and a control means 5. The air jacket has an air sac 11. The cartridge is filled with high pressure gas, and its opening is sealed by a sealing plate 12. The opening device is used for opening the sealing plate of the cartridge, and has a gas outflow port 13. The air sac is introduced and joined to the opening device via a tube 14. The control means has a sensor 8 arranged in the two wheeler 6, and detecting the approach of the traveling two wheeler and an obstacle 7 existing in front of the two wheeler. The opening device is operated by an electric signal P inputted from the control means on the basis of input information from the sensor.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a two-wheeled vehicle collision safety device for protecting a two-wheeled vehicle driver from the impact of a collision accident.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the widespread use of automobiles, traffic accidents are one of the major social problems. Among the traffic accidents, a two-wheeled vehicle collision accident in which a driver directly hits an obstacle or a road surface has a high mortality rate and is a serious problem.

In recent years, various studies and experiments have been carried out in order to reduce the mortality rate in such a two-wheeled vehicle collision accident. According to the two-wheeled vehicle and four-wheeled vehicle collision experiments involving the present inventor, The condition of the driver of the two-wheeled vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the rider) was confirmed immediately after the two-wheeled vehicle collided with the four-wheeled vehicle, and it was found that the rider was impacted by the tank of the two-wheeled vehicle immediately after the collision. In addition, the above collision experiment is defined by the experimental definition ISO.
13232-2.

On the other hand, in order to reduce a mortality rate in a collision accident of a two-wheeled vehicle, a collision safety device for a two-wheeled vehicle for protecting a rider from an impact received in the collision accident has also been proposed. As such a collision safety device for a motorcycle, for example, an air jacket worn by a rider, a gas cartridge filled with gas to be injected into the air jacket, and an inflator for ejecting gas from the gas cartridge in the event of a collision accident. Things are known.
According to this motorcycle collision safety device, the inflator is provided with an operating pin, and when the pin is pulled, a hole is opened in the gas cartridge and gas is ejected. Also, the inflator and the gas cartridge are integrally attached to the air jacket, the operating pin is attached to the motorcycle, and the inflator is activated when the rider is thrown out from the motorcycle in a collision accident, so that the air jacket is inflated. There is.

[0005]

According to the above-mentioned conventional collision safety device for a two-wheeled vehicle, the rider's whole body must move relative to the two-wheeled vehicle in order for the pin to be pulled out from the inflator. It is known from the above-mentioned collision experiment that the swelling occurs after the rider's body moves and receives an impact. For this reason, the conventional collision safety device has a problem that the start of operation is delayed and the rider cannot be sufficiently protected from the impact in the early stage after the collision. Further, in the structure that operates by pulling out the pin, there is a problem that the time required for the operation varies depending on the position where the pin is attached (for example, front and rear of the rider). There is a risk that the performance will be greatly impaired if the pin is attached at an incorrect position.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a collision safety device for a two-wheeled vehicle in which the time from the collision to the start of operation is short and the performance is not affected by the mounting condition before use.

[0007]

A collision safety device for a motorcycle according to the present invention has an air jacket, a cartridge, an opening device, and a control means, the air jacket has an air bag, and the cartridge has a high pressure. It is filled with gas and its opening is sealed by a sealing plate, the opening device is for opening the sealing plate of the cartridge, and is provided with a gas outlet, and the air bag is connected to the opening device via a tube. The control means is installed in the two-wheeled vehicle, and includes a sensor that detects the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle that is running and an obstacle existing in front of the two-wheeled vehicle, and the opening device is based on the input information from the sensor. It is characterized in that it operates by an electric signal output from the control means.

According to this collision safety device for a two-wheeled vehicle, when the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle and the obstacle is detected by the sensor, an electric signal is output from the control means and the unsealing device is activated, so that the two-wheeled vehicle approaches the obstacle almost at the same time. The air jacket can be inflated. Therefore, the time from the collision to the start of operation can be made extremely short as compared with the conventional collision safety device for a motorcycle. Further, even if the arrangement of the line connecting the control means and the opening device is slightly changed, the transmission speed of the electric signal hardly changes, so that the performance is not affected by the line attachment state before use. In the present invention, “approaching” means that the distance between the two-wheeled vehicle and the obstacle becomes short in a state where collision cannot be avoided, and does not include mere width adjustment in the rider's controllable range. Further, the state (contact) in which the distance between the two-wheeled vehicle and the obstacle disappears is included in the approach.

The sensor comprises a transmitter for transmitting ultrasonic waves toward the obstacle and a receiver for receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected by the obstacle, and the two-wheel vehicle and the You may make it detect the approach to an obstacle. This makes it possible to easily detect the approach of the motorcycle and the obstacle even if the obstacle is away from the motorcycle.

The sensor may be one selected from a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, an LED sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a contact switch, and in this case, it is not limited to the kind of the sensor, and a suitable existing sensor is used. It can be manufactured at low cost using a sensor.

The opening device may contain explosive powder, explode the explosive powder in accordance with the electric signal, and use the force of the explosion to open the sealing plate. In this case, the electrical energy of the electrical signal can be converted into mechanical kinetic energy for opening the sealing plate. Further, even if the electric energy of the electric signal is weak, it is possible to obtain the mechanical kinetic energy necessary and sufficient for opening the sealing plate.

[0012]

1 to 3 show a concrete example of a collision safety device for a motorcycle according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the collision safety device for the motorcycle. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the cartridge and the opening device with a part of the opening device cut away.

The motorcycle collision safety device 1 comprises an air jacket 2, a cartridge 3, an opening device 4, and a control means 5.
And have. The air jacket 2 includes an air bag 11
The cartridge 3 is filled with high-pressure gas, and its opening is sealed by the sealing plate 12. The opening device 4 is for opening the sealing plate 12 of the cartridge 3 and is provided with a gas outlet 13 extending from a casing 15, and the air bag 11 is connected to the opening device 4 via a tube 14. The control means 5 is installed in the two-wheeled vehicle 6, and the two-wheeled vehicle 6 running and the two-wheeled vehicle 6
Is provided with a sensor 8 for detecting an approach to an obstacle 7 existing in front of the device, and the opening device 4 is operated by an electric signal P output from the control means 5 based on input information from the sensor 8. There is.

According to the collision safety device 1 for a two-wheeled vehicle, the electric signal P is output from the control means 5 when the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle 6 and the obstacle 7 is detected by the sensor 8, and the opening device 4 is actuated. The air jacket 2 can be inflated almost at the same time as the obstacle 7 is approached. Therefore, the time from the collision to the start of operation can be made extremely short as compared with the conventional collision safety device for a motorcycle. Further, even if the arrangement of the line connecting the control means 5 and the unsealing device 4 is changed to some extent, the transmission speed of the electric signal P hardly changes, so that the performance is not affected by the line attachment state before use.

The sensor 8 sends an ultrasonic wave 9 toward the obstacle 7.
And a receiver 8b that receives the ultrasonic wave 9 reflected by the obstacle 7, and detects the approach between the two-wheeled vehicle 6 and the obstacle 7 by using the reflection frequency. There is. By doing so, even when the obstacle 7 is away from the two-wheeled vehicle 6, it is possible to easily detect the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle 6 and the obstacle 7. As the ultrasonic sensor, for example, US-R25
(Product name, Takenaka Electronics) can be used.

The type of the sensor 8 is not limited and may be one selected from a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, an LED sensor, an acceleration sensor and a contact switch. In this way, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture using a suitable existing sensor without being limited to the type of the sensor.

In this case, the laser sensor, the infrared sensor, and the LED sensor are similar to the ultrasonic sensor, even if the obstacle 7 is separated from the two-wheeled vehicle 6.
There is an advantage that the approach of the obstacle 7 can be detected. In particular, the laser sensor has the drawback that it is prone to malfunction when the sun's light is directly incident on the light receiving part of the sensor, such as in the morning and evening when the position of the sun is low and the situation where diffuse reflection occurs, It has excellent characteristics as a detection means such that the time for detecting the approach between the obstacle 6 and the obstacle 7 becomes shorter than that when ultrasonic waves are used. As the laser sensor, for example, LV-21 and LV-H32 (product name,
Keyence Corporation) can be used.

When the acceleration sensor is used, the moment when the two-wheeled vehicle 6 collides with the obstacle 7 can be detected by utilizing the impact force received by the two-wheeled vehicle 6 regardless of the front, rear, left and right directions of the collision. There is an advantage. However, the acceleration sensor does not work due to the impact that the motorcycle receives due to overturning in normal driving, sudden stop, sudden start, etc.
Since it is necessary to operate only by the impact at the time of a collision, it is preferable to sense an impact of 10 G (G = gravitational acceleration) or more. As the acceleration sensor, it is possible to use, for example, one in which two piezoelectric elements that have been bimorphized are bonded to a metal plate, and the charge generated in the element distorted by impact is taken out.

When the contact switch is used, there is an advantage that the moment when the two-wheeled vehicle 6 and the obstacle 7 come into contact with each other can be surely detected due to its simple structure. As the contact switch, for example, a tape in which the outer peripheries of two electrodes arranged opposite to each other are covered with PVC is used, and the impact is detected by energizing the contact electrodes when pressure is applied. Can be used.

As shown in FIG. 3, the unsealing device 4 has a substantially tubular casing 15. The conductor wire extension 24 is attached to one opening of the casing 15, and the cartridge 3 is screwed to the other opening. In addition, inside the casing 15, a bottomed cylindrical inner wall member 2 is provided.
5 is arranged so that the bottom thereof faces the cartridge 3 side and the outer periphery thereof closely contacts the inner wall of the casing 15.
Inside the inner wall member 25, in order from the bottom side, the sliding member 1
9, explosive 23, and detonator 26 are arranged. The sliding member 19 has a firing pin 22, and the firing pin 22 is arranged so as to penetrate the bottom surface of the inner wall member 25. A lead wire 27 is connected to the initiator 26. The conducting wire 27 is led out of the unsealing device 4 via the conducting wire extending portion 24 and connected to the control means 5. The detonator 26 is ignited by the electric signal P transmitted through the lead wire 27 to explode the explosive 23. When the gunpowder 23 explodes,
The force of the explosion causes the sliding portion 19 to slide integrally with the firing pin 22,
The sealing plate 12 is designed to be opened. This makes it possible to easily convert the electric energy of the electric signal P into mechanical kinetic energy for opening the sealing plate 12.
Even if the electric energy of the electric signal P is weak, sufficient mechanical kinetic energy required for opening the sealing plate 12 can be obtained.

The control means 5 is provided with a control circuit 31 which receives an input signal from the sensor 8 and judges the condition thereof and outputs an electric signal P to the opening device 4. This control circuit 31
An external power source 32 such as a battery is connected to the power source, and a power switch 33 can be used to switch between operation and stop. The on / off state of the power is displayed on the output display 34 together with the state of the input signal. Further, a warning is displayed on the output display 34 even when the power supply voltage drops. Furthermore, this control circuit 31
A warning buzzer 35 is connected to the vehicle so that, for example, when the distance between the two-wheeled vehicle 6 and the obstacle 7 is a dangerous distance with a low possibility of collision, a buzzer is sounded to warn the rider. It has become.

The control means 5 may include a manual stop switch for the sensor 8. Then, if a sensor such as a laser sensor or an ultrasonic sensor that detects the obstacle 7 that is far from the motorcycle 6 is adopted, the rider cannot perform normal driving (in bad weather such as rain or snow, or in the vehicle. If the sensor 8 is under maintenance, or by arbitrarily stopping the sensor 8 at a racetrack, a forest road, or the like, malfunction of the sensor 8 can be prevented.

The opening device 4 and the control means 5 are detachably connected via a waterproof connector 36. The air jacket 2 to which the unsealing device 4 is attached can be freely attached to and detached from the control means 5 fixed to the two-wheeled vehicle 6 so that the rider can easily get on and off the vehicle. In addition, when the rider gets on the two-wheeled vehicle 6, do not forget to connect the opening device 4 and the control means 5, and when the rider gets off the two-wheeled vehicle 6, remove the opening device 4 and the control means 5. A warning lamp is lit to remind the rider to keep in mind. Since the waterproof connector 36 is exposed to the outside, the waterproof connector 36 has a waterproof specification so as not to malfunction or damage each device in bad weather such as rain or snow.

[0024]

According to the collision safety device for a two-wheeled vehicle of the present invention, an electric signal is output from the control means when the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle and an obstacle is detected by a sensor, and the opening device operates.
The air jacket can be inflated almost at the same time as the motorcycle approaches the obstacle. Therefore, the time from the collision to the start of operation can be made extremely short as compared with the conventional collision safety device for a motorcycle. Further, even if the arrangement of the line connecting the control means and the opening device is slightly changed, the transmission speed of the electric signal hardly changes, so that the performance is not affected by the line attachment state before use.

According to the second aspect, even when the obstacle is away from the two-wheeled vehicle, the approach of the two-wheeled vehicle and the obstacle can be easily detected.

According to the third aspect, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture by using an appropriate existing sensor without being limited to the type of the sensor.

According to the fourth aspect, the electric energy of the electric signal can be converted into mechanical kinetic energy for opening the sealing plate. Further, even if the electric energy of the electric signal is weak, sufficient mechanical kinetic energy required for opening the sealing plate can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a specific example of a collision safety device for a motorcycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the cartridge and the opening device of the collision safety device with a part of the opening device cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Motorcycle collision safety device 2 Air jacket 3 cartridges 4 Opening device 5 Control means 6 motorcycles 7 obstacles 8 sensors 8a transmitter 8b receiver 9 ultrasonic waves 11 air sacs 12 seals 13 Outlet 14 tubes 23 Gunpowder P electric signal

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An air jacket (2) and a cartridge (3)
And an opening device (4) and a control means (5), the air jacket (2) has an air bag (11), the cartridge (3) is filled with high-pressure gas, and the opening is a sealing plate. The opening device (4) is sealed by the (12), and the opening plate (1) of the cartridge (3) is
For opening 2), it is equipped with a gas outlet (13), the air bag (11) is connected to the opening device (4) through a tube (14), and the control means (5) is a motorcycle (6). ) Installed and running
(6) and a sensor (8) for detecting the approach of the obstacle (7) existing in front of the two-wheeled vehicle (6), the opening device (4) is based on the input information from the sensor (8) A collision safety device (1) for a two-wheeled vehicle, characterized by being operated by an electric signal (P) output from the control means (5). 2. The sensor (8) comprises a transmitter (8a) for transmitting an ultrasonic wave (9) toward the obstacle (7) and the ultrasonic wave (9) reflected by the obstacle (7). ) Is received, the two-wheeled vehicle (6) and the obstacle (8) using the frequency change of the ultrasonic wave (9).
The collision safety device for a motorcycle according to claim 1, which detects an approach to (7). 3. The sensor (8) is a laser sensor,
The motorcycle collision safety device according to claim 1, wherein the collision safety device is one selected from an infrared sensor, an LED sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a contact switch. 4. The opening device (4) contains a powder (23),
The collision safety device for a motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein the explosive (23) is exploded in accordance with the electric signal (P), and the force of the explosion is used to open the sealing plate (12).